Chamber:
	Ständerat - Conseil des Etats - Consiglio degli Stati
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	19 October 2003
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the Council of States on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	Some 4.7 million Swiss were summoned to the polls on 19 October 2003 to elect the new members of the National Council and 41 out of the 46 members of the Council of States. Some 93 men and 26 women stood for election. In a first for Switzerland, the 22 000 or so foreign residents in the canton of Neuchâtel who possessed a ‘C’ permit and had been living in the canton for at least five years were entitled to participate in the election to the Council of States. The electoral campaign focused mainly on the issues of the old-age and survivors’ insurance scheme and the future of social insurance. The Swiss voiced their concern at rising unemployment (3.7%) and pension reform. Other more peripheral issues included the conduct of economic policy during a recession (attack by the Socialist Party on the Christian Democratic People’s Party) and immigration policy (dual initiative pending from the Swiss People’s Party on asylum and naturalisation). The issue of European Union membership, meanwhile, proved so unpopular that it was dropped by all the parties with the exception of the Socialists. In the Conseil des Etats, the PS (Socialist Party) emerged the winner of the second round of elections held on 9 November 2003, winning 3 of the seats lost by the PRD. Furthermore, that day the UDC won an additional seat to the detriment of the PRD, which now has a mere 14 elected representatives as opposed to its previous 18 MPs. The PDC retained its 15 MPs, thereby emerging as the leading group in the cantonal House. The new Parliament held its inaugural session on 1 December 2003. The elections resulted in a re-distribution of the seven government portfolios which, since 1959, have been divided up on the basis of consensus between the country’s four main parties. This formula had not met with opposition since the 1963 elections and had remained that way until the 1995 elections. The SVP/UDC already held the defence portfolio and has now claimed a second following its success at the polls. On 10 December 2003, the Parliament elected the members of the Federal Council (government) for a four-year term. Among them is Mr. Merz, PRD, Upper House MP, whose seat is currently vacant.

STATISTICS

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates
Christian-Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC)	19
Radical-Democratic Party (FDP/PRD)	22
Socialist Party (SP/PS)	21
Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC)	17

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Christian-Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC)	15	=
Radical-Democratic Party (FDP/PRD)	14	-4
Socialist Party (SP/PS)	9	+3
Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC)	8	+1

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	35
Women:	11
Percent of women:	23.91

Distribution of seats according to age:
31 to 40 years:	1
41 to 50 years:	7
51 to 60 years:	24
61 to 70 years:	14
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Legal professions	20
Managers:	13
Civil servants (incl. former)	5
Scientists	3
Farmers	2
Housewives	1
Journalists/writers/publishers	1
Politicians	1